Vehicle-bow trimming



(No Model.)

H. HIGGIN. Vehicle Bow Trimming.

No. 234,574. Patented Nov. 16,1880.

Fig.1.

Usnrnn STATES Arnnr tries.

HENRY HIGGIN, OF NEl/VPORT, KENTUCKY.

VEHICLE-BOW T'RllVlMING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,574, dated November 16, 1880.

Application filed September 24, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY HIGGIN, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, of Newport, in the county of Campbell and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Bow Trimmings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trimmings or coverings for vehicle-bows known to the trade as valances.

Heretofore the top of a vehicle-bow has been covered or finished with japanned leather, cut into shape to fit it, and nailed thereto, after first placing strips of very thick leather, pasteboard, or other like material underneath it, to give it the desired ornamental configuration. This method has proved both expensive and tedious, and necessarily requires the employment of skillful, expert .workmen to perform it, the work, when finished, being often unsightly and easily damaged.

The object of my invention is the provision of a manufactured article which is cheaper, more durable, and superior in all other respects to those now in use, it being readily applied by the carriage-maker without the assistance of skilled labor.

The invention consists in a novel structure of a metallic valance for carriage-bows, and is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical front elevation of a vehicle-bow, showing my improved valance applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical side elevation of the same, showing the bow and the leather forming the cover of the top broken. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same, but showing the cover and finishing-strip removed, to show the manner of cut-ting, curving, and fastening the top or outside flange of the valance. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on line 00 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a broken front elevation of the center of the bow, showing the manner of coupling or uniting the valance when made in sections; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of a strip of material, illustrating the manner of cutting it before shaping in the dies.

A represents the fore bow of a vehicle-top, to which my improved valance is applied. B is the valance, which is made of thin sheet metal.

A strip of metal is first cut the desired length, one or both ends being curved to accommodate the curve in the bow. A series of cuts or openings, D D, are then made by suitable cutting-dies in the edges of the outer and inner curves of the metal, as shown in Fig. 6,

to provide for its necessary contraction. The.

metal thus prepared is then placed between suitable forming-dies in a machine to give the face of it the configuration shown, with beaded edges b and screw-eyes b for the passage of screws to secure it to the front of the bow, and also to make the flanges I) I) on its edges to provide for its attachment to the how. The cuts or openings D in the top flange, I), overlap in the curved portion thereof, as shown in Fig. 3; but it is obvious that this cutting may be dispensed with and the metal contracted in any other suitable manner when compressed between the dies, as the flange is afterward covered, in the application of the valance to the bow, by an angular strip ofjapanned metal, 0, which entirely hides the cuts or any other rough appearance occasioned by contraction of the metal. The lower or inside flange, b, is preferably cut as shown in Fig. 6, the projections d serving to form suitable places in which to secure it. This manner of cutting the flange Z) may also be dispensed with, and the metal contracted in any other suitable manner, it also being concealed preferably by an angular strip of metal, 0, the same as hereinbefore described in connection with flange Z). The metal, after cutting and shaping, is then japan ned and ready for application to the bow.

I will now describe the manner of applying my improved valance.

E represents the leather cover of a vehicletop,which is first secured to the bow A in any well-known manner, its forward edge being preferably on a line with the forward edge of the bow, as shown in Fig. 4. The valance B is then secured, which I prefer to do by means of flat-headed nails, tacks, or screws 0, driven through the flanges b I), the horizontal portion of angular strip of metal 0 being first introduced underneath, and the vertical portion (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2) folded down upon them by means of a proper tool used for such purposes, and then nails 0 driven into the whole, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, imparting a beauty of finish never heretofore attained in this special line of carriage-trimmings.

I have shown the valance B in Fig. 1 as made in one piece; but] prefer to construct it in two sections, as shown in Fig. 5, which will adapt it to fit various sizes of bows, the several parts being united by a coupling, B, of the same material, japanned, and of the same shape, and properly secured on the top and bottom thereof, underneath the finishingstrips 0 0, when they are employed.

Any other design of valance than the one herein shown and described may be successfully employed, different styles of dies only being necessary, which I do not claim.

What I claim is- 1. A metallic valance or trimming for vehicle-bows, constructed, finished, and applied in the manner substantially as herein set forth.

2. A vehicle carriage-bow consisting of a wooden filling and a metallic valance consisting of a metallic strip shaped in suitable dies to a permanent form to conform to the shape of the bow, and embracing the upper and lower edges and covering the face of the same, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a vehicle-bow, A, of a metallic valance, B, constructed with flanges b b and headed edges 1), said valance covering the face and embracing the upper and lower edges of the bow, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a vehicle-bow, of a metallic valance, B, made from a strip of metal having the series of cuts or openings, as described, to'provide for bending the strip, and constructed with the upper and lower beaded edges 1) I) and flanges b b, said valance covering the face and embracing the upper and lower edges of the bow, substantially as set forth.

5. A valance for carriage-bows, consisting of a strip of metal having a series of cuts or openings to provide for bending it to conform to the shape of the bow, and provided with the flanges b b and the upper and lower beaded edges 1) b, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

JNo. E. JONES, WILLIAM GAMBLE.

HENRY HI GGIN. 

